


Without Warning

by Claireton



Category: Dying Light (Video Game)
Genre: Cheesy, Danger of neck snapping by cringing, Love Confessions, Month late request, Multi, Profanity, Rare Fandoms, Teasing, and it makes for ez fluff times, gender neutral reader, im a bad person, reader is a little hot headed i guess??, reader is kinda awkward and easily embarrassed, short-ish reader, sorry but its fun to write you that way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:43:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6279529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claireton/pseuds/Claireton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The reader and Crane are on a run together when it gets dark halfway through, forcing them to take refuge in a safehouse together - cringey and cheesey times await them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Without Warning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mel/gifts).



> Hello! This is a fic by request that I promised to the requester a full month ago, promising it would only be a few days. Mel, if you somehow didn't get fed up waiting for me to stop being lazy and you're reading this. my apologies for taking so long. I'll do my best to make it extra entertaining by including as many of your suggestions as I can, I hope you like it!
> 
> Also, for a bit of context, the beginning of this is set in the 'Spare Glasses' sidequest in the game.

You took post at the bottom of the staircase, clenching your metal baseball bat high and watching Crane cautiously inspect the room. There could have been biters hidden anywhere, and it was simply too small a room for the both of you to safely swing weapons at one, so Crane had volunteered to go first. You watched tensely as he pushed open a door, only to sigh with relief as he turned to you and nodded the all clear. You relaxed, sliding your bat back into its makeshift holster and approaching Crane.

"Alright, shouldn't be too hard to find, just a pair of glasses and a book." he stated, casually sweeping his gaze across the room you stood in.

You nodded and moved to a nearby locker while Crane began inspecting a wardrobe. It didn't appear to be locked, but nonetheless the door refused to budge as you tugged on it. The entire container rattled as you fervently shook the handle, and in spite of some hopeful creaking, the door itself hardly seemed to shift at all.

"Jeez, (firstname), you try'na bring every zombie in the city here?" Crane asked from behind, leaving you to turn your head and watch him walk over with a curious expression.

"N- it's just this-" you began, giving the door another heave with a grunt of effort.

"Stupid locker is stuck."

"Here, let me." he ordered, taking a step toward you. You were about to allow him when he continued.

"Can't expect someone of your size to handle this kinda thing."

You stopped, narrowing your eyes and looking to Crane. Though he clearly tried to maintain a serious expression, a cocky smirk still broke out as he looked at you with an eyebrow slightly perked.

"Excuse me?" you asked, grasping the handle again and positioning yourself so that your back was facing Crane when he gave no response.

It had been a while since you met each other, but the moment you had become friends Crane had never held back on tormenting you about your smaller stature. You weren't even that much shorter than him, coming to a stop just higher than his shoulders, though he seemed to care little.

"Aw, come on (firstname), no need to be embarrassed, we all have our flaws." Crane declared in a faux sympathetic voice.

"I'm _not_  em- Shut up, I don't need your help." you growled, summoning all of your strength for another go at the door.

As if influenced by your indignation, the door unexpectedly snapped open, leaving you to stumble back and narrowly avoid falling into Crane. Doing your best to refuse any embarrassment showing on your face, you neared the locker again, picking up an expensive looking pair of spectacles and turning to Crane with a triumphant smile.

"Alright, I'll give ya credit for that one. Nice job." he praised.

You opened your mouth to make a witty response but before your chance to do so Crane turned and headed toward the next room while speaking.

"It's always a challenge taking on things twice your size."

Once again you were cut off from a snappy remark when Crane entered the next room.

"Ah, Jeez."

You sighed in defeat, moving to the doorway where Crane stood and looking around him to see a plethora of books strewn about the room. 

"Which book are we looking for again?" you asked, already trying to make out some of the titles from where you stood.

"Uh, something about gardening." Crane recalled, finally stepping into the room and moving to the left side while you took the right.

You stooped down, picking a book up from the floor and reading the cover aloud.

"A thousand and one banana recipes." you called out, staring at the cover for a moment longer when a thought entered your mind.

"Why's it always ' _and one'_ ?" you wondered aloud.

"One thousand recipes seems like plenty to me."

Crane gave a low grunt of acknowledgement but no further answer, so you shrugged to yourself and threw the book aside.

"The Big Book of Death Metal." Crane called from his side, a hint of a bewilderment in his voice.

"He doesn't seem like the type." you reflected, thinking of the man in the Tower that had asked the two of you to retrieve the items for him.

"No he does not." Crane agreed, laying the book aside.

Your focus returned to your own side, scanning the covers of books until one in particular made your eyes widen.

"Oh my _God_." you said in disbelief, picking up the offending book.

"What, d'you find it?" Crane asked from his position.

"Better." you stated, turning to face Crane, who now faced you totally in curiosity.

 

You used one hand to hold the book aloft while gliding the other under it, posing with a smile as you spoke as if it were a corny advertisement.

"Wet Dream; The First Romance Novel for Plumbers." you said, doing your best at having a sexy tone to your voice.

"Good God.." Crane murmured, shaking his head and turning away again, not even giving you the chance to do so before he spoke up again.

"Big Butt Bonanza. Nice." he read aloud, turning just his head toward you with a brow raised and a smirk.

You scoffed and shook your head as you both tossed your books to the side. No other books were half as interesting as the last one you found, so you remained silent as you searched, only to hear Crane speak up again.

"How To Look Good Over Forty." he called out.

"You should keep _that_  one." you quickly replied with a grin, relishing the chance at a little payback for earlier.

"You try'na say somethin'?" he asked.

Rather than answer, you simply turned to a bookshelf and skimmed the shelves with a smile, finding nothing of use on the lower ones and upon looking up finding the corner of one peeking out from the very top of the case. After reaching up, your fingers just barely scratched the corner of it, leaving you cursing under your breath. Twice more you tried reaching for it before you became aware of the dead silence in the room. When you turned to Crane, you found him leaning against an overturned couch with his arms folded, watching you. With facial expression alone he managed to mock you again, and you sighed heavily with defeat.

"If you wouldn't mind.." you muttered, motioning to the bookcase.

"Hm? I thought you didn't need my help." he stated innocently, moving over to you while you glared with as much hatred as you could muster.

He reached up, easily taking the book from its perch before reading the cover aloud.

"Seed To Feed, a couch potato's guide for- Hey you found it, nice work shortstuff." he praised.

As though the name alone weren't enough, Crane extended his free hand and ruffled your hair in an act of pure patronization.

"Crane, I _will_ hurt you." you warned, pushing his hand away and fixing your (haircolour) locks again.

Crane simply chuckled as he stored the book away.

"So, you ready to go? Need to get back before it's dark." Crane stated, turning his head toward a window, despite it being boarded up.

You nodded and curled your legs individually, using your hands to pull and stretch them out.

"Yeah. let's do it."

Crane turned and moved back to the first room, stopping beside a bolted door. He undid one of the bolts and placed his hand on the other before turning to you, raising his eyebrows in question. With a deep breath you shifted yourself out of the joking atmosphere that had been created between the two of you. It had been fun while it lasted but it was time to get serious again so that you cold get out there and actually survive. You nodded, taking out your bat once more. Crane moved his head closer to the door, leaving the room in utter silence for a moment. Your grip tightened on the bat when he raised one finger to you in indication of what he could hear outside.

"Do it." you said, mustering your courage as he undid the last bolt and pulled open the door, standing behind it.

The biter stood absently just outside the doorway for a moment, its head swiveling this way and that as it tried to discern the source of the noise. Once it figured it out, its eyes locked onto you and the biter began shambling toward you with determination, its rotting jaw already opening with anticipation.

You stepped forward, grunting with effort as you swung the bat viciously, aiming for the biter's head. It connected at the jawline, sending the biter reeling as you gathered yourself and prepared for another attempt. As the creature begun losing its balance, its head stopped at an opportune angle for you to strike again, and so you raised the bat above your head, stepping to the side. With another grunt, the bat came cracking against the biter's head once more, leaving it sprawling onto the floor. Having been struck in the same place twice, its skull seemed somewhat misshapen, but regardless it continued moving to get up. Before you could get another attack in, Crane had his machete buried through the biter's skull, effectively ending it.

Loosing a breath, you and Crane shared a look with a mutual nod of success before heading to the door again. Wordlessly, you decided to take point, creeping out with your bat raised in defence. There were a few biters on either side, shuffling about without notice of you, and you immediately took sight of an adequate way to the rooftops. You turned to Crane and inclined your head to the route; up one car and a few window sills to reach the top of the opposite housing. He nodded and moved quickly, stepping up the car and climbing the sills with little effort. Watching his movements, you had just begun to put your bat away in preparation to follow when an aggressive, guttural growling sounded from just in front of you. Your head snapped round to find the source, and realized it to be another biter charging you, its arms outstretched. Taken by surprise, you grabbed your bat at either end, using it lengthways to repel the biter that was now within arm's length of you. Unphased, the creature continued at you, gnashing its teeth voraciously and pressing against the bat. Somewhere behind your panic you heard your name being called, though it barely registered in the midst of your situation. The biter inched closer and closer, continuing until you could hear the sounds of its teeth clacking together with each bite. With one last bout of desperate strength, you pushed on the bat, groaning with effort. Fueled by adrenaline, your attempt sent the biter back, along with your bat, both of which hit the ground. You barely managed not to fall yourself, just barely retaining your balance and turning toward the escape route as soon as you were able. You could see Crane, half crouched on the roof's edge, his hand outstretched and beckoning to you hurriedly, and without another glance around you began sprinting with what energy you had left.  One last step until you could jump onto the car, but without warning there was a pressure on your forearm, followed by the unmistakable pain of teeth sinking into your flesh.

You cried out in pain, your gaze immediately turning to the biter clinging onto you. In too much shock to react quickly, you could only watch helplessly as it loosened its jaw to take another bite. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the biter was moving away from you, a pair of hands on each of its shoulders as it was hurled to the side. Crane was there, yelling something at you, but you were too focused on your wound to make it out. Time itself seemed to slow as you stared at it with harrowing thoughts. What if you bled to death? You knew that there was Antizin for infected people, but could you get any in time? What if you turned before you got back and attacked Crane? These thoughts and more assaulted your mind, silenced only when they were cut off by Crane shoving you toward the car.

Only then did the real world surge back into focus, leaving you feeling like you had just been launched from the muffled innards of a cannon to the clear, vibrant sensations of the outside.

"Go, go!" Crane roared from close behind you, and before you had even decided to do so your feet were traversing the car.

You leapt from its end, clutching the lowest windowsill and working through the burning pain in your arm. Fast as you could in your state you ascended the side of the building window by window, at last reaching the roof and hoisting yourself up so that you lay on its surface, trying your best to regain your breath. Not long after, you heard Crane come up behind you. He immediately crouched beside you, resting a tense hand on your shoulder.

"(Firstname)? Fuck, show me your bite." he ordered.

You rolled, pushing yourself into a sitting position against an air conditioning unit before holding your arm out. Too scared to look for yourself, you switched your gaze to the distance and felt Crane's hands supporting your arm as he inspected you.

"Alright, 's not that bad." he declared, though you could still hear a tinge of doubtfulness in his voice.

"We just gotta clean it up ASAP and get you back to the Tower."

Relieved to hear some good news, you dared look back to your arm again.There was blood coating the wound, but it seemed you had been lucky that the biter had tried to go for another bite instead of ripping out what it already had.

"What about the Antizin?" you asked. You weren't sure how much was left at the Tower, if any.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Crane assured you.

"Can you move? Are you able to run?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so." you responded, nodding slowly as you used the unit to pull yourself up. You didn't see an arm wound impeding your ability to run all that much.

"Well, let me know when you're ready to go. It's not long until night." he requested.

"Now. I'm ready to go now." you insisted, looking toward the direction of the Tower.

Crane looked at you for a few moments, likely determining the legitimacy of your statement. You intentionally avoided his gaze to avoid seeming unsure, and eventually he relented, heading for the edge of the roof. He paused, gauging the jump, then turned to you again.

"This one's pretty easy, shouldn't be a problem."

You nodded, appreciating the fact that he was being considerate and not wanting to mention that you felt as capable as you always were. Crane backed up a few steps before making the jump, disappearing over the roof's edge. You lined yourself up, following suit and making a running jump over the edge. Even sailing through the air you couldn't help but notice Crane's worried expression, but there wasn't much time to think on it before you rolled on the roof's surface, rising to a standing position again and turning to face Crane.

"I'm  _fine_ , Crane." you repeated, not having to ask to know what he was thinking.

"You don't have to keep checking on me."

Crane observed you for a few moments, doubt and worry clear in his gaze. You opened your mouth to repeat yourself, but he cut you off with a reluctant nod before turning again.

"Well, there's catwalks here anyway, so you can walk it off for a sec."

He began walking, with you close behind. As you neared the edge, you noticed what he had said was true; wooden planks across close rooftops served as makeshift catwalks for runners like yourselves. They would run out eventually, of course, but for the time being they would do. Crane walked across one and you followed, feeling a little wary when the wood creaked, but continuing regardless. By this point, the pain in your arm had faded to a more comfortable level, but you were still aware that it needed to be cleaned properly. Crane led the way up a ladder to a higher section of the roof, disappearing over the edge before you even got to the bottom of it. You climbed onto the first rungs, moving up two before an overpowering dizziness enveloped you. Your fingers gripped the rungs like vices as your vision blurred, leaving you panting out of silent panic. You couldn't tell how long you had been there, but it was long enough that Crane came back to the top of the ladder, looking down to you.

"Uh, (firstname)? You alright?" he asked.

Your attempt at a verbal response only ended in a breathy sigh, and you were worried that moving your head in the slightest, even for a nod, would knock you off balance, so you gave up in replying and remained where you were, feeling your energy slowly come back to you. You knew what was happening, the other survivors called them 'seizures'; they were symptoms of infection. But the actual feeling itself was like nothing you could have imagined. It was as if you had run full sprint for days and suddenly forgotten why you were so exhausted.

Fortunately, Crane seemed to understand, and he stood silent watch over you until your energy returned. After a relieved sigh, you began making your way up the ladder again, with Crane holding your undamaged arm for support once you neared the top.

"You're having seizures already?" Crane asked, his voice laden with concern.

"I guess." you responded, pausing to breathe.

A silence formed between the two of you, with you trying to ensure that you were capable of moving, and Crane staring you down without a word. Inside, you were a little conflicted on how to act about Crane's behaviour. Though you were a team and cared deeply for each other, you tended to show it more through insult based humour and witty remarks. The kind of genuine worry Crane was showing was so unusual that it nearly left you uncomfortable, even with the situation at hand. Unsure what to say amidst the quiet, you simply raised your bad arm again, looking at the wound. The seizures were impossible to predict, and what if one came about in the middle of climbing a building? Thoughts of falling to your death as a consequence of being too proud to admit your worry surfaced, leaving you to sigh quietly. Perhaps it would be for the best after all if you were to just hole up in a safehouse nearby and rest.

"Is-is there any safehouses nearby?" you asked. It was a little embarrassing to ask when you had only insisted on being fine two minutes ago.

"Yeah. Come on." Crane answered, swiping a hand in beckoning and leading you a little ways off the path toward the Tower.

He led the way to the roof's edge,  nodding toward the next building over. Around its edge was small fences, though they didn't seem necessary; no biter that was going to be stopped by them could even climb as high as that roof. After looking to you for confirmation and receiving a nod, Crane took a few steps back. After a decent run up he leaped to the roof, not even needing to grab the ledge. You watched him go and steeled yourself, praying that nothing would happen and leave you to an untimely death.

"You've got this, (firstname)." Crane called over.

"I'm right here if anything goes wrong."

You nodded, grateful for the encouragement, and backed up, gauging how many steps you would need  before you jumped. After some deliberation, you went for it, sprinting for the edge and leaping off with as much strength as you could muster. Thankfully, you judged correctly, and hit the roof's surface with just a little too much speed, narrowly avoiding a fall onto your face. After some stumbling, you straightened up again and turned to Crane, who peaked an eyebrow in silent judgement.

"Piece of cake." you claimed, shrugging.

Crane nodded before motioning to a small hatch in the roof with an inclination of his head. You followed him over to it and crouched by the hole, peering in, though it was difficult to see much.

"Be my guest." Crane offered, sweeping a hand over the hole.

You glared at him for a moment before dropping into the dimly lit room, half crouching to soften the fall before stepping aside to allow Crane to do the same. The safehouse was a fairly standard apartment, from what you could see. Boarded windows blocked a large portion of light coming through and left the room bathed in semi darkness, saved only by thin slits of light that managed to break through, and even they were not as bright as they might have been earlier in the day.

"Alright, just- uh, just find somewhere to sit and I'll see if there's any medical supplies lyin' around." Crane ordered, moving further in and disappearing into a room, leaving you to your own devices.

You watched him go for a moment before stepping forward and looking around the room more closely, curious. Eventually you decided that you may as well look for supplies yourself, rather than sitting passively and letting Crane do all of the work. You approached a chest of drawers, skimming your eyes over some useless papers on top before pulling out the drawers one by one. Nothing of interest caught your eye, so instead you moved to a wardrobe and pulled it open. Inside, a single shirt hung from a clothes hanger. With a disinterested sigh, you had closed the doors again and swiveled round, inspecting the rest of the room from where you stood. The only thing left to check was a room that Crane hadn't gone into yet, and so you took it upon yourself to check inside. You approached, stepping in and finding it to be a bedroom. The room was immaculate, save for some dust,  as though it were totally oblivious of the world that lay outside the apartment. Spotting another chest of drawers, you moved over and had just opened the first one when Crane's voice caused you to look back toward the door

"(Firstname)? Where'd you go?" he called.

"I'm in here Crane." you responded, though you didn't move any closer to the door to help. After listening to aimless footsteps search for you, Crane eventually appeared in the doorway, her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

"Huh, I didn't even see this room when we came in."

You looked at him, unsure how to respond, so instead shrugged nonchalantly and looked back to the drawer.

"Well, anyway, you're in luck, there was a first aid kit in the bathroom." he announced, holding up said kit with a wry smirk.

"C'mere so I can fix you up." he ordered, moving to stand beside the bed and opening the kit on a nightstand.

You closed the drawer, walking over and standing behind Crane. By now, your arm only stung a little, but you knew with what was coming that wouldn't last long. Crane turned to you and inclined his head toward the bed.

"Sit."

You raised an eyebrow at his commanding tone, but complied nonetheless.

"Yes, Sir." you answered jokingly.

"Ah, shut up. You know I didn' mean it like that." he muttered.

He got on one knee, grabbing your arm and holding up a damp cloth. After glancing at you, almost for confirmation, he pressed the cloth into your wound. Even though you had been expecting pain, you hissed loudly as the chemicals burned into the exposed flesh, involuntarily clenching your fist.

"Sorry." Crane apologized.

You shook your head, too busy loosing a calming breath to answer. In the end, the pain would be worth the wound not getting infected. You stared at the cloth, feeling more relieved as the pain began to subside, but even as you stared you could seem from the corner of your eye that Crane was looking at your face instead of your arm. For a few moments, you did your best to seem oblivious, supposing that he was just trying to gauge how much pain you were in. Before long, however, your gaze unintentionally snapped up to him, and in that moment a wild new feeling enveloped you. It felt as though your heart were literally aflutter as the two of you stared at one another in overpowering silence. Feeling your cheeks begin to burn furiously, you cleared your throat in a desperate attempt to alleviate some of the awkwardness that had just been created, while Crane, for his part, began to dab and wipe your wound, his touch more tense than before.

"Th-uh, thanks, Crane." you managed, cursing yourself for stuttering.

"Hey, no problem." he replied coolly, though you could hear a tinge of strain somewhere in it.

The silence reared its ugly head again until Crane suddenly spoke up.

"As if I'd let one of Snow White's dwarves die right in front of me."

You narrowed your eyes at a grinning Crane, resisting the urge for a well placed kick from where you sat.

"I don't think I want your help anymore."

Crane just chuckled lowly and turned to the first aid kit again, returning a moment later with bandages in hand.

"Alright, just stay still for a minute." he requested.

Crane's hand took hold of your lower arm, sending frissons through your entire body without warning, to which you reacted by unintentionally tensing up your arm. Crane perked his eyebrows and looked up to you questioningly, but rather than get caught in another stare down you turned your head to the side and silently prayed for another seizure to relieve you of all the stress you were under. After a pause, Crane brought his focus back to your arm, and began winding the bandage around your wound. Every now and then you risked a glance in his direction again, but each time his gaze remained on his work. Eventually, the job was done, and Crane released your arm as he stood up. He walked over to the first aid kit and began packing it again while you admired his handiwork. You didn't see Crane apply first aid all that often but he seemed quite adept at it.

Now that he wasn't so close, you wanted to take time to consider these new feelings that had arisen about Crane in you, though you feared that doing so while he was even in the same room would end badly. Instead, you forced yourself to stand and feign obliviousness to them.

"So, you ready to go?" you inquired.

"Actually, (firstname)," Crane began, turning to face you again and leaning his lower half against the nightstand with his arms folded.

"I think it's for the best if we stay here tonight."

You opened your mouth to protest, but Crane cut you off, likely anticipating it.

"It's too dangerous. We don't know when these seizures are coming, and it's too close to night for us to stop whenever you have one."

You sighed quietly, pride making you want to insist that you were fine, but ultimately you knew that Crane was right. Going any further in your state was simply too risky a business, and it was safe where you currently were.

"Fine." you agreed reluctantly, falling back onto the bed.

"You can rest here and I'll find a couch or somethin' to sleep on." he offered.

He stood there for another few moments, watching you. Once again your heart screamed with excitement under his gaze, but he left without another word, disappearing through the doorway. You watched him leave, tentatively rubbing your hand up and down your bandages, grateful to be alone with your thoughts. As you swung yourself into a lying position, you stared at the wall opposite and allowed such thoughts to go all out, bombarding your conscious with never ending questions.

First and foremost; Why now? You and Crane had known each other for some time now, and never before had you felt anything for him in that way. At the same time, however, you wondered how this could have been true. Now that you were actually paying attention, you had come to notice that Crane was actually quite handsome, so why hadn't you noticed before? Either way, you had no clue what you were going to do about it. If you told him and he refused you, what would happen? Could you continue the way you were, knowing something like that? You simply couldn't imagine going on all these runs without Crane by your side. And even if he accepted, then what? What would come of it? No matter how many options you could go through in your head, none of them held the possibility of things not being changed drastically between the two of you. Somehow, you managed to feel sleep come to you as you closed your eyes, allowing your thoughts to continue running rampant as your body  gave in to its exhaustion. On the brink of going under, you were interrupted by the sound of footsteps close by.

Your eyes pulled open, though you could see nothing in the room, the darkness being no help. Declaring it as your mind playing tricks on you, you had just begun to settle in again when a sudden weight on the bed beside you made you yelp, whipping around and half expecting to see a biter coming at you. Instead, you found Crane, temporarily staring at you in panic from your yelling before continuing to climb into the bed.

"What the hell are you doing?!" you asked, too shocked to move. It certainly didn't help that your heart was aware Crane was climbing into a bed with you.

"There's no more beds in the apartment." he declared matter of factly, though you felt you could tell that behind his nonchalant demeanor he was as embarrassed as you.

"Well, so? We can't sleep in the same bed!" you said incredulously.

"Why not?"

This question stopped you in your tracks. Not even a day ago you would have just laughed it off and let it happen, but now that you had these feelings, things were just too different in your perspective. After staring at Crane for a few moments with the gears of your brain turning furiously to create an answer, you spoke.

"Because!" you started.

"It's-it's.."

Unable to think of an excuse, you just sighed vehemently and turned again, facing away from Crane. A part of you knew it wasn't right to get upset with him, and you used the ensuing quiet moments to calm yourself before Crane spoke up again.

"What's 'a matter with you, (firstname)?" Crane asked from behind you. His tone didn't seem angered, which only made you feel worse about the way you had acted.

"Nothing Crane, just,-just go to sleep." you answered coolly, managing to disguise your wild heart with your voice.

You closed your eyes, releasing a deep breath and allowing yourself to relax much as you were able.

"Uh-Hey (firstname)?" Crane said, almost tentatively.

"What?"

"D'you think you could- Can you move a bit? I'm barely hanging on here."

You shifted forward, feeling the bed shake as Crane did the same.

"You know, it's a one person bed for a reason." you chastised.

"Well, yeah, but you're only about _half_ a regular person, so.." Crane trailed off.

A well aimed kick backward made Crane curl up his leg with a grunt of pain, much to your satisfaction.

"You know, I could easily push you off this thing." he warned, giving your shoulder a modest push.

You shifted so that your back was flat on the mattress, turning your head to Crane and intending to give a witty comeback, but the second your eyes met you locked up, the previously calmed feelings coming back full force. You could have sworn Crane's eyes widened as yours did, but you hardly got the chance for a close look before the both of you turned your backs to one another. For whatever reason, the whole fiasco left you feeling out of breath, but you didn't want it to end like that so you dared speak up one last time.

"Um, night Crane."

"Wha- Oh yeah, uh, g'night (firstname)." Crane mumbled.

\--------

 

You awoke, slowly coming back to consciousness as you lay with your eyes still closed. Though in the back of your mind you knew you really should have gotten up straight away, another part of you reasoned that after the events of yesterday you deserved some rest, and so you remained still, allowing your mind to ease itself into activity at a leisurely pace. Even in your groggy state, you could feel that the top of the bed covers had drifted down to your abdomen, so you reached down for them and hoisted them up, absently noting how large and heavy they felt. Curiously, though they seemed to warm your back greatly, it felt as though on your side there was nothing but the top of the covers to retain the heat. In spite of the peculiarity, you remained relaxed, only opening your eyes when you felt the smallest breeze on the back of your neck.

Blinking a few times to un-blur your vision, the first thing to register with you was the sigh of Crane's arm draped over your shoulder, exactly where you had placed it. Your eyes widened and your heart began somersaulting once you came to the realization; That was no blanket against your back, nor any random wind against your neck. Entirely shocked, you had no clue what course of action to take. If you tried to extricate yourself and got caught halfway through, it might look even stranger than it already did. Was Crane even awake at that moment? You shifted your shoulders at an agonizingly slow pace, eventually reaching the point where you could turn your head the rest of the way, and looked up at him. From what you could tell, he was still very much asleep, his breath continuing to tickle your face as you looked at him. Even asleep, his face still held that focused, almost angry look that seemed his default expression in his waking time. After some time, you found yourself still staring, and though a part of you felt you were acting a little creepy, you couldn't help yourself. You continued to trace his features with your gaze until his breath hitched, making you jump and whip back around to the way you had awoken. You forced your eyes shut, trying to make yourself relax and being fairly certain Crane hadn't noticed anything.

You lay motionless, listening as Crane's breathing stopped for a moment then changed pace, taking that as a sign that he had awoken. You cracked your eyes open, watching Crane's arm across your shoulder. In the silence of the room, you could hear what seemed a faint gasp from Crane. For a few moments, there was nothing else, and then his arm slowly began to retract from you, as well as the heat on your back beginning to peel away. You weren't sure whether to be relieved or saddened by his actions, simply watching them pan out. Then, without warning, Crane paused. The moment that followed was mere seconds, but you felt as though it could have been half an hour, just laying there and watching half of his arm hover above you. Then, the moment ended, and the heat on your back returned, along with Crane's arm encasing you once more. Barely managing not to gasp or tense up, you simply closed your eyes again and allowed the barrage of thoughts and feelings to swarm your being.

\---

Again you awoke, immediately noting that Crane's presence was no longer with you, and shifting your position so that you sat up. You looked to where Crane had been lying, and placed a hand there to find it cold. Judging by the thin light streams coming into the apartment, you assumed it was around midday, and at last climbed out of the bed, stretching yourself out in preparation to leave. Once finished, you stepped out of the bedroom, a quick scan of the apartment revealing Crane was not present. Curious, you looked up to the entrance you had come through the last day before climbing up through it and onto the roof above.

The sunlight left you squinting for a moment as your eyes adjusted from the darkness you had just been in, and as they refocused you watched a figure that could only be Crane heading toward you.

"Wow, look who's finally up." he said, walking up to you.

"Hey, where'd you go?" you asked.

"Ah, just went to look for supplies. Don' worry about it."

You nodded, thinking nothing more of it and looking across the rooftops that led to The Tower.

"You ready to go?" Crane wondered.

When you looked to him, you expected to see concern in his eyes, the same as you had yesterday, but this time there was something else in them; something you couldn't quite place. Did he remember that morning? He was acting the same as he always did, and he seemed to have no desire to mention it to you. You didn't want to mention it if he didn't, though, so instead you dismissed the thought and plastered on a smile.

"Yeah, let's do it."

\---

You arrived at the Tower entrance, stopping to take a breath as you passed the door frame. Fortunately, you had managed to avoid any more seizures in your path. Crane passed you and made way for the broken stairs, a minute after which you followed. The residents of the Tower seemed to take little notice of either of you as you made way to the elevator, where Crane turned to you.

"Wait here a sec, just gotta hand over the book and glasses."

You nodded and watched him turn around the corner, waiting until he was fully gone to allow yourself to think about that morning again. Did he really not remember, or did he just not care? Perhaps he didn't want to say anything because he had thought you were asleep. Still, you expected him act even a little differently toward you, but he was the same Crane he had always been. You considered mentioning it, but that thought was quickly dispelled from your mind. There was no way you could tell him that not only had you been awake at that time, but you had awoken _before_ him, stared at him, and then continued to lie there.

Your thought train was cut short when he reappeared, beckoning with his head as he entered the elevator.

"Need to tell Lena about your wound." he declared as you entered the elevator.

"Oh, right." you said, lifting your arm and looking at the bandage. It itched slightly, but otherwise it appeared fine.

"How do you feel?" Crane asked.

"I'm fine, Crane. Seriously."

Crane nodded and switched his gaze to the wall for the remainder of the elevator ride, raising a hand to the back of his neck. When the sound gave notice of your arrival, he stepped out first, holding the door and throwing it closed behind you.

"Thanks." you said. It was a little out of character for Crane to act chivalrous like that.

"Don' worry about it."

The two of you made your way to Lena's makeshift infirmary, with the woman herself giving a tired sigh as her eyes immediately snapped to your bandages.

"Is it a bite?" she asked, to which you nodded.

"More Antizin. Great." she muttered, taking a pen from her pocket and scribbling some notes on a dilapidated notepad.

"Sorry." you murmured, not sure what else to say.

She shook her head dismissively before switching to a different notepad.

"Do you need any _now_ _?_ "

You shook your head, leading Lena to nod and shoo the pair of you away with one hand. Crane led the way out into the hallway before beginning to make way to his room.

"She seems a little out of it today." you reflected, looking to Crane with an eyebrow raised.

"She's under a lot of stress. Always is." he replied.

Unsure how to answer, you simply looked to the floor as you walked. Left to your own thoughts, you drifted back to your feelings for Crane, and what to do about them. Your brain insisted against saying a word, fearing that it would go horribly wrong, but at that point your heart was so tired of not being listened to that it began completely overpowering your thoughts, demanding that you at least say _something_ to Crane. If it worked out, it could be incredible. And even if it didn't, what was the worst that could happen? In that brief moment, the decision was cemented in you; You were going to tell Crane.

From then until you reached his room, your heart bounded and leaped without restraint, bringing an inexplicable smile to your features as you walked beside Crane. You felt as though you should have been more nervous, but you were so sure in that moment of your decision that you couldn't have been happier.

You followed Crane into his room and sat on the bed as he went straight to his duffel bag and began rummaging around in it. You watched  him as he went about his work, searching the depths of you mind for the best way to say what you wanted to say. Should you get it over with quickly, or try to make it more personal? Ultimately you decided on a mix between the two.

"Hey Crane?" you called, trying to ignore the fact that your insides were pure fire at this point.

"Yeah?" was the response, though he continued to rifle through his bag.

"There's, uh.. there's something I need to tell you." you continued, clasping your hands tightly and looking down to them, beginning to feel somewhat nervous. You could hear Crane rise again and turn to you.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked.

"I r-" you began, but you were immediately stopped when your eyes connected with Crane's. There was nothing in them, but nonetheless you were paralyzed, cold chills surging throughout your body.

All too suddenly, your brain was back in control, demanding that you abort mission. You couldn't believe that you had thought for even a second that telling Crane how you felt was the best plan of action at that moment. You snapped your gaze back down to your hands, now hopelessly wrenched into one another on your lap, and tried your hardest not to look petrified, though it was of little avail.

Crane moved over, only making matters worse when he sat beside you and looked to you.

"Jesus Christ (firstname) what's up with you? You're actin' so fuckin' weird lately."

When your only response was a shaky breath as opposed to your normal comebacks, Crane frowned and spoke up again.

"Look.. (firstname), if there's something you wanna say just say it. " he ordered.

You turned your head to him, and loosed another shaky sigh. Though you regretted ever starting to say anything at all, it was too late to turn back now.

"Crane, I..." you started, but you just couldn't bring yourself to look at him as you said it, so you closed your eyes and turned your head back to the floor as you spoke.

"Crane, I...I like you. Like- _like_ like you."

By now, you felt on the verge of crying with all of the emotions filling you, but still you persisted, wanting to get all of your thoughts out at once.

"I'm sorry, but I had to tell you. If you don't want me to go with you on runs anymore, I understand. Just.. please don't be upset."

Without the courage to look up again, you remained the way you were, growing more and more worried as the silence continued.

"Look, (firstname).." Crane broke the silence.

"You don' have to-I mean, I-What if.." he stopped, giving a deep sigh of his own.

After a pause, you felt his hand come to rest on your shoulder, and at last you opened your eyes, turning your head to him. His eyes locked onto yours, and before you realized you were even moving the two of you had leaned most of the way toward one another. Every piece of your being was abuzz with excitement as you closed the distance, at last coming to an end with your lips pressed against each others. His lips were less rough than you had expected, leaving you pleasantly surprised. It continued, Crane's hand slowly running down your arm until it came to the bed's surface.  After what felt like hours, Crane's lips slowly released from your own, and the two of you gazed at one another for another few moments before returning to your neutral sitting positions, with you looking down, a complacent smile on your face.

"That was-uh, that was...good." Crane stated lamely.

You nodded in agreement.

"It was perfect."

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about the crappy ending, but I'm not sure what else to do. Endings have always been my weakest point.
> 
> If you see any mistakes, I would be happy to hear it in the comments! Especially if I ended up using any phrases or pronouns that weren't gender neutral.
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
